French gender equality and diversity group Le Collectif 50/50 has hit out at the lack of female representation at the upcoming César awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars. The protest comes after not a single woman made it into the Best Director category in nominations announced Wednesday. The awards ceremony is February 24 in Paris. Just one feature by a female director — Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi’s controversy-hit Forever Young — was nominated for Best Film. This outcome raised surprise in some quarters as there was a raft of strong features by female directors on release in France this year including Alice Winocour’s Paris Memories , Rebecca Zlotowski’s Other People’s Children , Léa Mysius’ The Five Devils and 2023 French Oscar submission Saint Omer by Alice Diop. “Le Collectif 50/50 deplores the total absence of women in the Best Director category and their lack of representation in the Best Film category,” the body wrote in a statement … [Read more...] about French Gender Equality Group Launches #CesarSoMale Campaign After Female Directors Shut Out Of Awards
Names for female labs
The Gotham Names Winners Of 4th Annual Focus Features & JetBlue Student Short Film Showcase
EXCLUSIVE : The Gotham Film & Media Institute has unveiled the winners of its fourth annual Focus Features & JetBlue Student Short Film Showcase. The five filmmakers chosen are Saleem Gondal ( Post Term , Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema), Yingtong Li ( The Silent Whistle , Emerson College), Taylor Mannsman ( Obscura , University of Texas at Austin), Shannon M. Sutherland ( They Flew Like Blackbirds , Florida State University) and Cheryl Wong ( Stigma, Style , NYU). The Gotham’s Short Film Showcase aims to discover and empower a diverse group of emerging filmmakers, and to foster multi-platform distribution of their work. Winners of this year’s showcase, supported by returning partners JetBlue and Focus Features, as well as new partner Soho House, had their works selected by a jury of filmmakers, curators and critics, with shorts from 23 graduate schools having been submitted. Each was recognized during the 2022 Gotham Awards Ceremony on November 28, received … [Read more...] about The Gotham Names Winners Of 4th Annual Focus Features & JetBlue Student Short Film Showcase
The Film Academy And Its Oscars Manage To Feed On Their Own Mistakes
Well, the mostly predictable Oscar nominations arrived Tuesday morning with no disasters or truly egregious missteps. Even the snubs were fairly routine: no female directors, though women won the directing award in the past two years ; James Cameron and Joseph Kosinski, both with Best Picture nominees , were left out too. Such normalcy is too bad. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. It’s a weird but undeniable fact of Hollywood life that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its pet awards ceremony feed on their own mistakes. Let things go well or follow an expected path, and the Oscars turn into a yawn. But screw something up, and suddenly it’s the Greatest Show on Earth all over again — back on the pedestal, just waiting to be knocked off by the howling crowd. Errors are an asset. Gaffes are gold. The Academy is never so interesting as when it is just, plain, obviously wrong. This is not a casual mechanism. By and large, average … [Read more...] about The Film Academy And Its Oscars Manage To Feed On Their Own Mistakes
Peabody Awards: The Complete List Of 2022 Winners
UPDATED with final winners: The Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul , Bo Burnham’s Emmy-winning musical comedy special Inside , Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad and Raoul Peck’s Exterminate All the Brutes are among the final list of winners of 2022 Peabody Awards . The Peabodys, in their 82nd year, honor the year’s most powerful content across the fields of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming. The organization based at the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia wrapped up a a weeklong rollout of all 30 winners Thursday. This year’s awards were presented by the likes of Melissa McCarthy, Morgan Freeman, John Legend, Kevin Bacon, H.E.R., Ethan Hawke, Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj, Riz Ahmed, LeVar Burton, Jenny Slate, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Scott. Newsman Dan Rather and Fresh Air ‘s Terry Gross have already won this year’s Career Achievement Award and … [Read more...] about Peabody Awards: The Complete List Of 2022 Winners
Beyond Rights CEO David Smyth Is Leaving After Banijay Takeover
Beyond Rights CEO David Smyth is leaving the UK-based distributor following its parent’s sale to Banijay . Industry veteran Smyth joined Beyond International’s sales arm in December 2021, selling shows such as Mythbusters around the world. Banijay swooped to buy Beyond International in October last year and completed the circa-$30M deal early this month. Banijay has its own sales arm, Banijay Rights. A Banijay Rights spokesman confirmed his exit. “David Smyth, CEO, Beyond Rights, will be leaving the business, with his last day being January 31,” he said. “He joined Beyond Rights in December 2021 and made a significant contribution to the company through his strong and effective leadership. We’d like to thank him for his hard work and commitment to the business and wish him all the best with his future endeavours. “The move comes as Banijay embarks on integrating Beyond International Limited into its existing group.” Upon taking full control of Beyond, Banijay … [Read more...] about Beyond Rights CEO David Smyth Is Leaving After Banijay Takeover
Britney Spears ‘Annoyed’ After Fans Call 911 For Deleting Instagram Account
Britney Spears was anything but thrilled to have sheriff’s deputies knocking at her door close to midnight … all thanks to some fans who thought their favorite singer may be in danger. Sources connected to Spears tell us Brit was left “annoyed” after the unexpected visit. We’re told she understands how deeply her fans care about her and her well-being, so she wasn’t totally surprised things escalated to law enforcement’s involvement … but nonetheless, it was an inconvenience. These are the “fans” that called the cops on Britney because she deleted her Instagram account.. y’all know what to do! pic.twitter.com/aBGVyiA8Dk — KingSpears (@godkneebitch) January 25, 2023 @godkneebitch TMZ broke the story, deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office paid Britney a visit at her Thousand Oaks home Tuesday night around 11PM to perform a welfare check. Law enforcement sources told us they received several calls from fans who became concerned for Britney’s … [Read more...] about Britney Spears ‘Annoyed’ After Fans Call 911 For Deleting Instagram Account
Zayn Malik Signs With UTA
Multi-platinum selling recording artist, producer and philanthropist Zayn Malik has inked with UTA for representation across music, film and television, among other areas. The most recent album release for the British artist, who rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction, was 2021’s acclaimed Nobody is Listening . His debut solo album, Mind of Mine (2016), made him the first UK male solo artist to simultaneously chart at #1 on the UK and US album charts in the first week of release, with his lead single “Pillowtalk” hitting #1 in 68 countries around the world and being certified 5x platinum by the RIAA. Malik’s sophomore solo effort, the gold certified Icarus Falls , was released in 2018. The artist known for his hybrid style of pop and R&B, who is currently at work on his fourth studio album, was with One Direction from 2010-2015. It was his time with that group that launched his career into the stratosphere, with Malik contributing to its hit … [Read more...] about Zayn Malik Signs With UTA
Unscripted TV Exec Kevin Fortson To Retire After 30 Years With Warner Bros.
Kevin Fortson, the Executive Vice President of Production & Administration for Warner Bros . Unscripted Television, will retire this summer after three decades with the studio. “For the past 30 years, Kevin has been an indelible part of Warner Bros,” said Mike Darnell , President, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television. “His name has literally become synonymous with the company and the lot itself. Personally, I will miss him for his counsel, his friendship and his endless string of dad jokes. He truly is one in a million … although he would probably try to cut that budget down! He is as important to the studio as any movie or television show ever produced here, and if I had the power to do it, there would be a stage with his name on it, right next to Friends and The Big Bang Theory. He is known as the unofficial Mayor of the lot, and his constituents will miss him dearly… and no one will ever be re-elected to that position.” Fortson has been leading all aspects of … [Read more...] about Unscripted TV Exec Kevin Fortson To Retire After 30 Years With Warner Bros.
MBC Studios Boss Peter Smith Exiting Saudi-Owned Media Group
EXCLUSIVE: Peter Smith is leaving MBC Studios after four years as Managing Director. We’ve learned the international industry veteran is stepping down from the premium production arm of Middle Eastern and North African network MBC, though he’ll continue to advise on production and distribution. In a statement to Deadline, MBC CEO Sam Barnett confirmed the exit and said a successor would be named “in due course, in coming days.” Smith is a former NBCUniversal International President and was CEO of Cineflix Studios and Greece-based broadcaster Antenna Group. He joined MBC Studios in 2018 as it launched as the production arm of free-to-air network MBC, which is the largest media company in the MENA region. He was tasked with increasing MBC’s original film and TV output and and he has gone on to overseen the launch of shows such as Rashash , Rise of the Witches and The Devil’s Promise . “Peter Smith is stepping aside as Managing Director of MBC Studios,” said … [Read more...] about MBC Studios Boss Peter Smith Exiting Saudi-Owned Media Group
Peabody Awards Ceremony Finally Making Its Move To L.A., Sets 2023 Date
The Peabody Awards are officially moving their annual awards ceremony to Los Angeles, three years after originally announcing the plan that was eventually sidelined by the Covid pandemic. The organization said Thursday it will honor its winners June 11, 2023 at the Beverly Wilshire. It will mark the first time the honors, bestowed annually by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, will be held in L.A. For the past few events the ceremony was held in person at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. This year will mark the first in-person event since 2019 for the awards, which honor the year’s stories that best “powerfully reflect the pressing social issues and the vibrant emerging voices of our day” across the sectors of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, immersive and interactive media, and public service programming. “Moving the Peabody Awards to Los Angeles, a city practically … [Read more...] about Peabody Awards Ceremony Finally Making Its Move To L.A., Sets 2023 Date